The Measure of a Man
by Sam Vicky Ryan
Summary: Laura experiences something that changes her perspective
1. Default Chapter

TITLE: The Measure of a Man

Authors: VRyan / LConti (Amanda is AWOL Tonight)

Disclaimer: Ok These Characters are not ours we are just borrowing them for a wee bit ...

Spoilers: None

Author's Note: This is totally AU guys written from both Laura Roslin's and Adama's P.O.V. Many thanks to LauraC, who is new to this genre and is co-writing her first Fic.

Sometimes the small things in life are all that matter. The little insignificant happenings that can change a life to an extent where it can't be changed back.

That's exactly how Laura felt, her life had just been turned upside down and the man responsible didn't know or at least she didn't think he did.

"Dradis Contact"...Lieutenant Gaeta lifted his head from his screen and looked intently in Commander Adama's Direction.

"What is it Lieutenant?", William approached Gaeta's position.

"It's a ship sir" he took a deep breath and turned his attention back to the screen in front of him.

"Commander Sir, I'm getting a transmission from the ship".

"Put it through the Speakers Dee".

"Aye Sir".

That's when it all went pair shaped. Laura was pacing her make shift quarters when the Captain of the Colonial One informed her he had received a transmission from a vessel currently located off the Galactica's starboard bow. Laura ventured to the Colonial One's cockpit to take a look at the ship.

It was beautiful like some exotic bird it was pale grey with tentacles coming out of each side. The grey was to Laura's mind indescribable it was glowing and almost transparent. She hadn't understood the message no one had. The language spoken was alien.

The Vessel made no further contact with Galactica or the fleet for a couple of days, it just hovered off Galactica's bow observing or at least that was Gaius Baltar's theory. He had suggested blowing it up. The Commander was quick to shoot that suggestion down and the president almost laughed.

On the third day Laura Roslin woke up with one hell of a headache she'd had another dream, this one was different she didn't understand it. It consisted of images flashing before her minds eye. She looked about her quarters sweat was seeping from every pore in her body her camisole was drenched in it. _'Damn this menopause'_ she thought as she proceeded to wash and dress for the day.

When the second message came Roslin was more than a little shocked, she listened to it intently and did the unthinkable she replied to it, thus opening negotiations with the first non colonial species they had encountered. Once she was done she left the cockpit of the Colonial One and proceeded to the launch bay. She hadn't even bothered to send a message to Commander Adama to inform him she was coming aboard Galactica it was only when her shuttle was on the way that her ships pilot sent a message to Dee.

"It really Piss's me off when she does that", Adama was scowling his brow furrowed in frustration.

"Does what?", Tigh was hung-over and therefore a little less than with it.

"Surprise Visits". Adama looked at his XO for the first time. It was obvious Tigh had been on the gargle his eyes were like two piss holes in the desert and Adama had seen corpses less pale.

"Go sort yourself out Saul you look like shit".

"Ah, thanks sir", he replied sarcastically.

It wasn't long before a less than chirpy looking President Of The Twelve Colonies marched purposefully to their location looking intently at the Commander and then at his XO. Laura suspected Tigh was still pissed but didn't say anything directly she settled for subtlety instead.

"Commander, Colonel". She held Tigh's gaze for a moment hoping her slightly raised eyebrows and knowing smirk were enough to convey what she would like to have said.

"Madam President", Adama nodded.

"Did you get the message Commander?".

"Yes, we are trying to translate it, so far no luck".

"Translate it". Laura was entirely confused now; she had understood every word, every syllable. "Commander they want to know who we are and what we are doing in their part of space, that's it simple, what's to be translated. I told them….".

"Madame President, are you saying you understood it and replied?".

"Boy your quick this morning. Um, Yep".

"A word in private", William Adama gently placed his arm at her elbow and led her from C.I.C. towards the Ward Room.

As they entered he closed the door behind them.

"Mind telling me how you managed to translate it".

"I didn't, I understood it". Laura was beginning to feel a little tension from across the desk. Adama was looking at her oddly.

"You understood it?".

"You didn't?".

"No, no one did".

"I can tell you this Commander I had a very strange dream last night. When I woke up I had one hell of a headache. When the message came through I understood every word it really is that simple. I told them who we were a little about the Cylons and that we were on our way to earth".

"Madam President you must realize how this looks given the level of paranoia fleet wide these days."

"Oh, I get it; I'm not a Cylon or some alien in disguise Commander".

"That's not what I meant".

"Holy Gods, William Adama where's your sense of humor. My opinion; the flashes I got last night came from our friends out there. Maybe they used some form of telepathy to teach me their language".

"You could be right I would still like Major Connell to check you out. As a precaution, you understand".

"Fine, in your position I'd do the same".

William Adama brought Laura to the Doctor's office ordering him to.

"Check her out, No offence, Madam President".

Laura smiled at him as he sat "None taken".

Roslin was a bit nervous to say the least. She had found the courage somehow to tell William Adama about her cancer it had been a difficult conversation given the status of their relationship. He had been sympathetic and kind to her.

For some reason she always felt uneasy whenever she visited Connell. Ok his bedside manner sucked but as a person once you put him in his place he was ok. It wasn't the Doctor. She came to realize it was her. Her fear of dying had manifested itself not in emotional or mental instability but in an irrational fear of visiting the Galactica's Chief Medical Officer and of the infirmary. She warred with these feelings every time she had a check up or was in need of some painkillers.

The Doctor checked her out thoroughly. Adama had waited patiently outside for the results.

"Well, she's human, and that's all your getting", Connell smiled before retreating.

"Thanks".

When Laura Roslin dressed the commander escorted her towards his quarters for refreshments. He also wanted to talk to her. She was one of the few politicians he could stand, she irritated the hell out of him most of the time but there was a truth about her and a decency that had made him respect her even though he rarely admitted it even to himself, he liked her.

Laura sat crossing her long legs and undoing the buttons of her Black Pinstriped jacket.

"Madam President what did they say when you answered their questions?".

"That they would be leaving within twenty four hours and we could continue through their space so long as we didn't fire on any of their vessels. It sounded like a fair deal to me Commander so I agreed to it".

"That's just bloody great; this is supposed to be a joint leadership here Madam President. Why the hell didn't you contact me before making bloody alliances with alien species behind my back".

"Keep your hair on Commander; you'll give yourself a coronary. There wasn't time they wanted an answer straight away so I gave them one. I had to presume you would have agreed to it if I had told you".

"I would have agreed with you, fine end of discussion for now".

Adama gave her a glass of water and sat beside her and took a large mouthful out of his glass before proceeding with what he had planned on discussing with her at their morning briefing.

"Madam President……Laura", he had never used her first name before but he was about to broach a sensitive subject and felt it was appropriate to do so.

Laura smiled it was strange hearing him say her name. The only other person who called her Laura was Mother Elosha.

"What William".

He returned her smile before continuing.

"Are you all right?", he turned to look at her as he spoke.

"As all right as I can be", she knew he was referring to her cancer.

"Connell's treating my cancer as aggressively as he can. He can't operate; I knew that though before I left Caprica".

"I didn't ask when you told me but I have to now. How long?"

"Six months at the most, I try not to think about it".

"That's one way of dealing with it".

"That's my way of dealing, always has been. My mother had breast cancer, she died. Those were hard days. I always knew there was a chance and I hated going to Doctor's I had seen enough of that with my Mother so in a way it's my own fault it progressed to the stage it has without having been detected".

"You mean if you'd gone for treatment earlier", he didn't get to finish his sentence he could see tears in the Roslin's eye's he knew she would never cry in front of him she was far to together for that. But it bothered him to see her suffer in silence.

"Laura if you need to talk about it I'm here", without thinking before acting William Adama took her hand in his. He noted the fact that she had soft skin; he liked the feel of her hand in his.

Roslin smiled and tightened her hand around his "Thank you William, or do you prefer Bill".

"No definitely not Bill, Tigh's wife is the only one who calls me that and it irritates the hell out of me".

Laura laughed "Then I'll call you Will. She's bad news".

"Yep", he let go of her hand acknowledging the subtle message she had sent thus closing the topic of her cancer from their list of discussion topics at least temporarily.

That one small gesture his hand in hers' was for her the moment that changed her perception of the man. She had on previous occasions seen his gentle side but until that moment it had never been directed at her. As she sat there silent she realized how easy it would be if faced with such on a daily basis to develop feelings for this man that go beyond the bounds of friendship.

His hand in hers a simple gesture of friendship, his way of prescribing some humanity her way had changed her life in a way that upon reflection she didn't want undone. She hoped it would be the beginning of something good but somehow she knew the road would be rocky but worth the journey.

THE END


	2. The Letter

TITLE: **THE LETTER**

Disclaimer: Not mine

Authors:AmandaC /LauraC /VRyan

Summary:A Love Letter Sparks Major Problems for more than the President (Sequel to: The Measure of a Man)

Spoilers:None

Pairings:Laura Roslin / William Adama

Word Count:8409 Words

Laura surveyed the envelope with equal measures of delight and suspicion. It smelled musky and yet sweet like some long lost flower. She opened it slowly taking care not to rip the envelope or damage its contents.

She tried, but failed to suppress a grin as she read its words.

"**_You light up my life. You give me strength to carry on. You fill my dreams and make me whole again. I was lost in a pit of self loathing and denial, functioning on instinct having forgotten what it felt like to feel something, anything. You came into my life and changed all of that just by your presence. Thank you for being you. All my love…………………."_**

What a Day, what a week. She had learned an alien language reached a very decent armistice with Commander Adama, who was incidentally being very sweet to her. She mused it was probably sympathy with her having cancer. Then there was the fact that she had sorted out her little disagreement with Wally Gray. And to really make her day she had received what could only be described as a love letter from an anonymous source.

She surveyed the hand writing it was neat, professional the wording of the letter though brief was extremely eloquent. Whoever wrote this piece of prose she thought was well educated and intelligent he had great command of the English language, assuming it was a he. His grammar needed some work, being a school teacher by qualification Laura had spotted the error's though small straight away.

"Wow", she thought as she folded the sweet smelling piece of paper and placed back into its envelope. She smiled as she placed it with the other documents she had received from the Galactica. Having studied the physical evidence for clues and finding none, Laura decided to focus on the way it was written if only to get a clue as to the kind of person penned it. Remembering the words she tried to piece together what little personal information was in evidence in her mind and in the end she had to acknowledge though only to herself that she had no idea who could have written it.

Laura didn't deal with many men, aside from a select few from the Galactica, there was only Billy Keikeya, her right hand man and she doubted the note came from him and it certainly didn't come from Wally Gray she knew Wally's writing and this wasn't it. This mystery such as it was would have to be re solved, she had to know who her secret admirer was. Laura tapped her fingers on her desk trying desperately to think who it could be. She listed the suspects in her mind, the list was short.

"Lee Adama", Laura spoke his name out loud, possibly. She wasn't sure, time would tell.

"Colonel Tigh", she laughed as she spoke his name. 'Don't think so".

"Kara Thrace", "what" she went to delete that thought from her head but then it could have been sent as a joke to wind her up. But no, "that's more Tom Zarek's style. "Oh frakk no", she felt nauseous at the thought of Zarek being in love with her. The investigation would have to continue after her meeting with the Commander.

"Commander Adama", "gods", she had never thought to include him on the list of suspects. She had to acknowledge the fact that he was being well decent to her of late. "Interesting", she picked up a small bunch of papers from the opposite side of her desk, removed her jacket from the back of her chair, flicked her hair back behind her ears and left her quarters/office leaving thoughts of her secret admirer behind her…………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Twenty minutes later she waltzed cheerfully through several of Galactica's corridors speaking to a few of the ships personnel as she went, arriving finally and entering the Ward Room. She was greeted by a less than amused looking William Adama. In fact the Commander looked like a man who was seriously pissed off about something, what she didn't know as of yet. But Laura had a feeling she would do and shortly.

"Madam President", Adama didn't smile as he spoke.

"Commander Adama".

"We've gotta problem".

Laura smiled that's it, what she liked about him he is totally straight up he gives it that way and takes it that way.

"Let's have it then Commander".

"I received a document this morning and I thought you should be made aware of its contents".

"I am, as they say all ears", Laura remembered her letter from that morning allowing its words to drift unbidden into her minds eye.

"We've received a threat of sorts, you want to read it".

"Commander I have spent most of the morning shuffling through paperwork would you mind paraphrasing it for me please".

"Basically and this is the shorthand version. The author believes you are an alien conspirator. Whoever wrote it knows you have recently been in contact with an alien species and that you have learned to speak their language".

"What, How", Laura's mouth remained slightly ajar as Adama's words began to hit home.

"I'm getting to the good bit now Madam President. You're going to love this. He/she suggests we throw you out an airlock at the earliest convenient moment bla bla and so on goes into a rant about politics and the new era then".

"Commander, you have a very questionable sense of humour".

"It's no joke Laura".

"William it's someone pulling both our legs. Who else knows about the message we received from the aliens and more importantly the fact that I translated it?".

"The Colonel, Lt Gaeta and Dee".

"There you go your suspects. I have been down this road once today you know Commander and it was interesting to say the least".

"Madam President I think we should be taking this seriously. You have had several death threats and although I've tightened your security I'm still concerned".

"What? In case this nut job decides to what? Um! chuck me out the airlock himself", Laura couldn't help herself she started to laugh. It was preposterous she hadn't let it slip not even to Billy and she knew Adama was the soul of discretion.

But he wasn't laughing not even the hint of a smile crossed his lips and his blue eyes held a tight line. She wasn't going to let Mr Cranky Boots Adama ruin her good humour. It wasn't everyday she got an uplifting love letter and regardless of its source it had brightened her spirits.

"William, give me a break hah. Don't you think there's enough crap going on around here without taking some stupid joke too seriously".

"I hope you are right about it being a joke, but I doubt it. I'd take this particular threat seriously Laura", he handed her the aforementioned document. Laura took it from him and began to read it. Talk about raining on one's parade that did it yep frakked up her otherwise cheerful good mood.

"Now I know why you looked like a wet week when I walked in here".

"Well at least I'm readable".

"Meaning what exactly? That I'm not". Laura grimaced her nostrils flaring in indignation she re-read the last paragraph of the document and continued. "Yep, typical male response in this situation. Your problem Adama is to hell with it are we done here or what?". Then she read the small print at the bottom and threw it across the table at him.

Adama started to laugh. Laura watched him his blue eyes lit up when he laughed. Those same blue eyes were so brilliantly reflected in his son also. He had slight dimples, very slight. She had never really looked at him too closely. Most of the time they were fighting the only personal conversations they'd had were in relation to her illness. She had to admit, he was quite a good looking man, yep definitely attractive, but a big massive pain in the ass and that was one hell of a big but.

"Laura it took some work you are not a very easy woman to wind up", he spoke in between bouts of laughter.

"And your an asshole Commander that's just great 'throw her out the airlock signed Saul Tigh', what did you pair of monkeys plan this little wind up? Sat around, laughing at the thought of winding the President of the Twelve Colonies up. William Adama that's very grown up of ya you know".

"I know, couldn't help it. Drafting Saul in was the easy part".

Try as she was, she couldn't stay angry at him she never could. Maybe on occasion a little, but then he would do or say something and her anger would evaporate.

"Wind up aside, what did you ask me to come over for".

"A side from your company".

"Oh! Yea".

"I need your signature on a couple of documents I want to send fleet wide".

Laura looked at him suspiciously; she wondered what he was up to this time. He pulled two pieces of paper from beneath a pile on the desk and handed them to her. She read the first and signed the bottom. Started to read the second and stopped just as she reached the bottom part which was hand written. 'Frakk' she thought as she read, "Commander, whose hand writing is this?" she smiled before continuing "It's quite neat".

"It's mine Madam President and thank you for the compliment".

"I see".

"Some water?".

"Yes thank you".

She now knew who wrote _The Letter_ to her what she didn't know was if it was part of the wind up. She hoped in a small way that it wasn't that the words were his and the piece of paper had arrived on her desk by accident. She suspected she would never know for sure well its not like she could turn around and ask her military leader _'hey_ _did_ _you by any chance_ _write me a nice sweet itty bitty little love letter_ _just wondering_. _Coz truth be told it brightened my_ _otherwise dull day_. _Never knew you felt that way about me_'. Food for thought yes she had lashings of that now.

She sat in relative silence observing him listening to his words and all the while wondering, pondering. Yes he wrote the letter but did he mean it? Does he know she's got it? Was it meant for her? In finding her answer to one question she was left with many more which would remain unanswered ……………………………………..

The End **(For Now)**


End file.
